Cross Timbers Herpetologist THE JOURNAL OF THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY JANUARY 2012 Volume 1, Number 1 Dallas-Fort Worth Herpetological Society Mission: To promote understanding, appreciation, and conservation of reptiles and amphibians, to encourage respect for their habitats, and to foster responsible captive care. Mailing address: P.O. Box 151721 Phone (voice mailbox): (972) 949-4191 Arlington, TX 76015 Web site: www.dfwherp.org E-mail: [email protected] Members’ E-mail Group: www.groups.yahoo.com Photos: (Search for “dfwherp”) http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/dd57/DFWHERP/ The DFW Herpetological Society is a membership-based organization, with membership open to anyone with an interest in reptiles and amphibians. We encourage anyone with such an interest to join DFWHS, using the membership form provided toward the back of this newsletter or the form available at our web site. Officers and Members of the Board: President Ardell Mitchell - [email protected] Carl Franklin - [email protected] Field Trip Director Education Director Clint King - [email protected] Mark Pyle - [email protected] At-Large Board Member Membership Director Levi Dawson - [email protected] Trish Alder - [email protected] At-Large Board Member Treasurer David Killpack - [email protected] Debbie Dorman - [email protected] Editor Advisors to the Herpetological Society: Jonathan A. Campbell PhD Andy Gluesenkamp PhD University of Texas at Arlington Amphibian & Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Reptile Diversity Research Center Marsha McLaughlin Friends of Fort Worth Nature Center The Cross Timbers Herpetologist and its contents are © 2012, by the Dallas-Fort Worth Herpetological Society (DFWHS). All Rights Reserved. The DFWHS is a 501c3 educational organization. Ownership of articles remains with the author, and ownership of photographs remains with the photographer. Please do not reproduce material in the newsletter without permission of the owner. Permission for reproduction for nonprofit educational use is likely to be granted but you must first obtain permission from the owner. Inquire by calling or writing the Editor, or emailing [email protected]. Thank you! This month’s cover photo- A male gladiator frog (Hypsiboas boans) is momentarily distracted from vocalizing in hopes of attracting a female to lay her eggs in his recently excavated nest. Page 2 From the President New Publication, ambitious goals, revitalized direction and growth for the DFWHS The Dallas Fort Worth area is a major center for herpetological activity. Three prominent zoological collections, a major university and several localities within easy driving distance for finding and viewing amphibians and reptiles are all here! Not surprisingly that over the years, this area has hosted a herpetological society. From the 1960’s-80’s the Dallas Herpetological Society, the North Texas Herpetological Society and now since 1999 the Dallas Fort Worth Herpetological Society. This is a special issue of the Cross Timbers Herpetologist as it signifies the end of our monthly publication of the same name and the birth of our new quarterly journal. The journal will provide our society with a more formal platform to present a wide range of original content pertaining to herpetology, herpetoculture and conservation. Asides from a new publication you may have noticed a higher attendance at our monthly meetings. If you have not yet noticed then please come to one of our meetings whereby your presence will also increase attendance! Many of us who have been involved with herpetological societies since the 1990's (and earlier) have witnessed a precipitous decline in attendance at monthly meetings. For those of you who were not around, the North Texas Herpetological Society (NTHS) used to hold meetings in room 119 of Life Science and an early arrival was mandatory if you wanted a place to sit. Sometimes there was standing room only with the room overcapacity! In fact, the attendance was so great that a separate room and meeting was held for kids ages 12 and under. This lasted all too briefly as in 1996 most households had the Internet and people had a new and convenient way to acquire animals , information and supplies. Shortly thereafter attendance dwindled to the point that I remember speaking to a room with 7 people (perhaps the others knew I was coming to give the presentation!). This was not unique to the DFW area and was happening across the country. In my opinion it as due to a lack of adapting to what members wanted. If the information they sought could be attained online through a handful of keystrokes or through the pages of a herpetoculture magazine then what good was there for an organization that regurgitated the same information? In 1999 the Dallas Fort Worth Herpetological Society was created and a new direction was sought. The Cross Timbers Herpetologist began running original monthly content in an informative newsletter. This was unique among Texas herp societies and an increase in membership attendance and participation was noticeable and the society experienced growth. Two essential people in facilitating a healthy and viable society are none other than Steve Campbell and Michael Smith. Both of these men gave tirelessly to develop and promote our society and I don’t think we would be as successful as we are today had it not been for all of their hard work. Which leads me to our future as a society. I am delighted to announce that we are gearing up for some additional changes that we believe will set a path for future growth as a society. These changes will materialize in 2012. A new web design and functionality will allow for automatic membership updates and provide a login account to members where back issues of the Cross Timbers Herpetologist and our other publications can be downloaded as full color PDF files. The new web design will also provide full husbandry information for many of the more common species kept as pets. In the end I would like to thank you for being a member and helping us through another year. We already have several goals set for 2012 and look forward to what looks to be a promising and eventful year! Herpetological Highlights from Venezuela - 2007 By Carl J. Franklin In March of 2007 I accompanied Coleman Sheehy III to Puerto Ayacucho in Departamento Amazonas, Venezuela in an effort to collect live specimens of the snail eating snake Sibon nebulata, a series of voucher specimens from the region, and a specimen of a locally occurring species of aquatic coral snake. March is the dry season for much of northern South America and this expedition provided a stark contrast to the wet and lush rainy seasons to which I have become accustomed. In fact, the area was so dry that much of the forest was burning and the sky was always overcast due to a constant haze of smoke. Nevertheless, Coleman and I continued to brave the fires, potential conflicts with indigenous militant groups, and the ever-growing presence of the Chavez military. We were graciously hosted by a German transplant, Axel Keleman, and we highly recommend and we highly recommend him as both host and guide, should anyone decide to visit the region. Later we were joined by our Venezuelan colleagues, herpetologists Tito Barros and Gilson Rivas. him as both host and guide, should anyone decide to visit the region. Later we were joined by our Venezuelan colleagues, herpetologists Tito Barros and Gilson Rivas. As our plane prepared to land in Puerto Ayacucho Coleman and I got our first glimpse of the area. Notice the dry conditions and burned areas on the ground. The land across the Orinoco river is Colombia. Page 4 Due to their cryptic appearance, leaf litter toads (Rhinella margaritifer) were most frequently noticed when they moved. Page 5 Herpetological Highlights - Venezuela (continued) We met with a local insect collector, Antonio, and his family just outside of Puerto Ayacucho. Antonio is of Guajibo descent and his wife is Piaroa. Given their native heritage, and lifelong experience in the forest, both were skilled experts on the regions’ fauna. Antonio is an avid beetle collector and occasionally sells specimens. The following photos depict a few species he routinely encounters. A large beetle belonging to the family Ceram- bycidae always leaves a distinct impression. A shining example of a large beetle be- longing to the family Buprestidae. How about a jar filled with Megasoma? Page 6 A juvenile calico snake (Oxyrhopus petola) was found as it actively patrolled the riverside for- est floor at night. A mature calico snake was also encountered during a tropical forest Page 7 Herpetological Highlights - Venezuela (continued) A A brown-banded water snake (Helicops angulatus) was found submerged in a shallow stream. Page 8 Given the dry conditions, we continued to search the streams in hopes that most herpetological activity would be concentrated in areas containing moisture. These marine toads (Rhinella marinus) were found in a shallow pool in an otherwise dry creek bed. They were also noticeably skinny, likely a side effect of the dry season scarcity of food. Page 9 This smooth sided toad (Rhaebo guttatus) was found near one of the pools. This was the first speci- men encountered outside of old growth secondary or primary forest. After finding this spider belong- ing to the family Ctenidae con- suming a frog I decided to grab the prey with forceps and an ep- ic tug of war ensued. However, as a testament to the potency of the spider's venom the frog was reduced to little more than a small pile of mush a few hours later. Page 10 The small craters are the dried out remnants of the nest constructed by gladiator frogs (Hypsiboas boans). Page 11 Males prepare the nest in such a fashion that water remains inside after the levels begin to drop, thus forming an isolated pool in which the eggs can hatch and the larvae develop free of aquatic preda- tors.